Prairie Dog Symbolism & Meaning

Need more stability in a relationship? Want greater emotional control? Prairie Dog, as a Spirit, Totem, and Power Animal, can help! Prairie Dog teaches you to garner strength by digging to the energetic influence of the Earth Element, all while showing you how to better manage feelings threatening to overwhelm you! Delve deeply into Prairie Dog symbolism and meaning to find out how this Spirit Animal Guide can support, strengthen, and awaken you!

Prairie Dog Table of Contents

• Prairie Dog Symbolism & Meaning
• Spirit Animal
• Totem Animal
• Power Animal
• Native American Symbolism
• Mexican Symbolism
• Prairie Dog Dreams
• Back to all Mammals
• Back to all Spirit Animal Meanings

Prairie Dog Symbolism & Meaning

The Prairie Dog is akin to Squirrel, and some of Squirrel’s personality traits certainly appear in the Prairie Dog’s demeanor. The main differences are that Prairie Dogs live underground while Squirrel spends most of its time in the lofty trees, and of the two, Prairie Dogs have a shorter tail. Despite their minor differences, both creatures share a good deal of symbolism, so reviewing the meaning of Squirrel as a Spirit, Totem, and Power Animal will offer greater insights into the emergence of Prairie Dog as a Spirit Guide.

The Prairie Dog community spreads out over vast distances through a network of channels. The tunnels help rain runoff, thereby helping to prevent the flooding of the lands. Prairie Dog’s dwelling place gives the creature ties to the Earth Element. Here, your Animal Ally comes to represent stability, grounding, and practicality. At the same time, Prairie Dog’s appearance urges you to place tighter control over the flow of emotions that come “flooding in” so they don’t overwhelm you.

Prairie Dog’s large, earnest eyes are ideally suited to the darkness of the tunnels in which it hides and navigates with ease. Here, Prairie Dog’s meaning and symbolism equate to seeing through shadows and what’s hidden. Your Animal Ally encourages you to expand your vision!

As Prairie Dog moves from place to place, the Animal quite unwittingly fertilizes the ground with its droppings. Here, your Animal Companion encourages you to consider the actions you take now that enrich the soil for the future growth of yourself and others. There are many little words and actions we leave behind without thought that help enrich the days ahead.

Unlike tree-dwelling Squirrels, Prairie Dogs are highly social with specific means for communicating within its colony. They may create clan units where several families band together. Within the family unit, Prairie Dog shows affection by what may appear to be kissing and preening each other thoroughly. Moving into Prairie Dog Town, you can often find as many as 25 distinct groups or wards creating a colony with trees and rocks marking territorial boundaries. Within the pages of Texas’ recorded history, there’s mention of a Prairie Dog colony spanning over one hundred miles. Here, your Animal Spirit Guide represents strengthening familial bonds, working with the community, and enlarging your existing circle of friends.

Within the colony, the burrows have nursing and sleeping spots. Each exit from the colony features a listening post so members of the colony can remain aware of potential predators. The complexity of the colony’s structure is a feat of ingenuity and cooperation: Two vital attributes Prairie Dog Medicine urges you to instill in your life.

The Prairie Dog family consists of a breeding male and two or three females. In terms of children, there are typically two of each gender. In a large family group, another breeding male may join them out of necessity. Related breeding males are friendly toward each other. The mating and large families within Prairie Dog colonies allude to the idea that it takes a community to raise a child.

The head honcho Prairie Dog defends the groups territory. If danger approaches, the creature sounds an alarm that sounds like barking. All Prairie Dogs within hearing distance are quick to dive into the colony holes. When two males meet, they begin fluffing their tails, chattering, and sniffing each other’s scent glands. They may also jump in the air and yip as a territorial gesture. If this encounter moves into a fight, they bite, kick, and headbutt each other. Come winter, Prairie Dogs retreat into the tunnels and hibernate until the harsh cold passes; This does have some dangers from Snakes, Ferrets, and burrowing Owls that may try to take over that space.

Prairie-Dog Spirit Animal

Prairie Dog often shows up as a Spirit Animal when you find yourself entangled in situations you rather avoid. As your Animal Ally, Prairie Dog supports you in remaining sure in your steps, while urging you to turn to friends, family, and the community to get through troubling conditions. Prairie Dog understands there’s strength in numbers and reminds you things will work out for the better when you ask for a little help along the way.

Prairie Dog arrives in your life when you’re taking things way too seriously. Perhaps you’ve become pessimistic as you drown in self-pity. Prairie Dog Spirit is all about the power of positivity. The longer you stay stagnant, the harder it becomes to turn the tide. Prairie Dog barks a warning that you need to free yourself from the dangerous emotional tides threatening to overwhelm you!

When you feel as if your sacred space requires defending, Prairie Dog stands firm with you. You have every right and the responsibility to protect what you cherish. Just as Prairie Dogs defend their colony, your Animal Companion urges you to take considerable care in protecting what’s yours.

Sometimes Prairie Dog comes to tell you it’s time for keeping a low-profile. Like your Animal Companion, you may go underground, at least in a figurative sense. Perhaps you are looking to conserve your energy and resources. Give yourself time for a personal retreat. Self-care is of utmost importance.

If you are in the middle of an important decision, Prairie Dog helps you find the open pathways and most accessible way forward. Remember, too, that your colony of friends or loved ones might be an excellent resource for help in making choices of considerable import.

The Prairie Dog Spirit Animal may call upon you to reconnect with the Earth. The creature encourages you to get out and feel the grass on your feet. Let the fair breezes fill your lungs. Reach out with your senses and embrace the free-flowing, stable energy all around you.

Prairie Dog Totem Animal

Not surprisingly, those born with a Prairie Dog Totem focus on community building and maintenance. When a group needs an organizer, a Prairie Dog Person jumps at the opportunity. The individual has a rare gift for bringing diverse people together for a cause. It is of an equal rarity to find Prairie Dog without a project or two on their plate, often of an eco-friendly nature.

With the Prairie Dog as your Birth Totem, you may consider becoming a vegetarian. You also have a special touch when it comes to anything you grow. Sometimes you are tempted to overdo it when it comes to other people’s lives. Just be aware of that and gauge your actions accordingly.

Walking with Prairie Dog means you will need periodic retreats. You expend a lot of energy on those causes you support. Eventually, it would help if you refilled that inner well. It is hard, as a Prairie Dog Person, to do this–you have an itch to get back into things. Nonetheless, find a means of retreating into silence and renewal. Think of it as a short hibernation. Once you finish, you are ready to tackle the world again with your typical resilient spirit.

One of the benefits of a Prairie Dog totem is the ability to network. If someone needs to connect to information or people, you find a way to make it happen almost by magic. For you, this comes naturally. Meanwhile, everyone else wonders how the heck you got all that data.

Prairie Dog medicine fills you with courage and conviction. When you put your mind to something, it’s best if everyone gets out of your way so you can work. As you do, remember that your social circle may be of great help in whatever task you’ve embraced. That community input is essential for Prairie Dog. Make good use of it.

Prairie Dog Power Animal

Call on a Prairie Dog as your Power Animal when reviewing your responsibilities to your Tribe. Group dynamics mean honing your social skills. Clarify your thoughts in your meditations with Prairie Dog, then work as a unit in which each person knows their role.

Your Prairie Dog Power Animal makes a competent partner when navigating dark situations in your life. There are choices to be made, but nothing seems clear when shadows and doubt hover around your thoughts. Prairie Dog helps you traverse such conditions, and calls to close friends to aid you.

Native American Prairie Dog Symbolic Meanings

In Native American lore, the Cheyenne associate Prairie Dog with corn, which is quite an honor. The Navajo and Apaches say Prairie Dogs regulate water and rain, and the Plains Tribes consider Prairie Dog a symbol of humility.

The Jicarilla Tribe (Apache) has a story about Prairie Dog. One begins with a man who searched for what seemed an endless time for water. He got to a point where he laid down, ready to die. Weak and exhausted, the man found himself at the edge of a Prairie Dog’s hole and begging for water. Prairie Dog came out, giving him a tiny cup. Thinking this would barely wet his mouth, the man took the water, expecting little. But the cup was magical and gave the man enough water to survive.

Afterward, Prairie Dog gave the man a mission. He was to begin walking again, and he would find water. The man thought there was no harm in trying, so off he went. He eventually stumbled on a place where the rains had been heavy and realized it was the gift of Prairie Dog. Ever since Prairie Dog superstition says, this creature has power.

Mexican Prairie Dog Symbolic Meanings

Mexican Prairie Dogs a jump and yip while making sounds a bit lit like “we-oh.” Now, one Prairie Dog taking such action is cute, but something about the jump-yip seems contagious. It spreads through the whole colony until each Prairie Dog is repeating the sound; The event unfolds like a ritual.

People studying the behavior of the Mexican Prairie Dog feel it is a way in which the creatures establish social connections. The jump-yips may also provide information to neighboring wards. Alternatively, it could act as a warning or an “all clear” message when a predator arrives.

Possum and Opossum Dreams

Seeing a Prairie Dog in your dream acts as a reminder of the importance of community. You cannot hide in your hole forever. Get out and take a good look around. Find those connections.

If the Prairie Dog is yipping, it’s a bad omen. There is trouble afoot, and you need to remain aware. Two or more Prairie Dogs cleaning each other represent your inner circle. Remember to extend love and kindness whenever you can.

When the Prairie Dog seems to be hunting for food, this is your curious side. You have a bit of an adventure at hand. Seek out the mystery and solve it.

A Prairie Dog underground may be interpreted as a suggestion that it’s time to rest. Alone time is a way of renewing your energy and an excellent time for sorting out your thoughts. Internalize all those things that have been merely stirring in your head.

Some say that Prairie Dog signifies your wild side. You do not have to fall in step with societal norms. Enforced conformity makes you extremely unhappy. It’s time to celebrate your uniqueness.

If the Prairie Dog’s eyes seem central to your dream, it’s time to extend all your psychic antennae. You have lost perspective on something. Take a second look at things.

Prairie Dog Symbolic Meanings Key

• Affection
• Boundaries
• Cooperation
• Defense
• Decision Making
• Expression
• Industry
• Kinship
• Playfulness
• Community-Building & Group Efforts